The top 100 restaurants named

THE annual Delicious Magazine top 100 restaurants in three states has been unveiled, with a beachside sensation on the Gold Coast, a fine dining restaurant in the backblocks of Geelong and a rookie in Sydney topping the list.

The delicious 100 not only celebrates the best premium experiences, but those that offer bang for your buck and are perfect for less formal occasions. Quite simply, it's about what's delicious.

And it looked further afield than capital cities to find it.

NSW

Rookie Sydney restaurant Fred's capped a great year by adding No 1 spot in the Delicious Magazine's Top 100 to a swag of food awards.

The 60-seat Paddington restaurant combined its home kitchen feel with knockout modern Australian offerings to take the title.

Ester's, a few Sydney suburbs away in Chippendale, earned the number 2 listing with judges saying its fermented potato bread was just the beginning of a list of must-have dishes.

Far from the madding crowd, Brunswick Heads restaurant Fleet rounded out the Top 3.

The tiny Far North Coast gem seats just 14 people inside, and is a modern Australian cuisine marvel.